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Hi, I've been a Michigan resident my whole life, and due to the recent job market in this area am considering moving to Minnesota. I've been out of work for 1/2 the year and the market is looking worse every day. My girl and I are considering moving to Mn. because she has a sister that lives there, plus I'm an avid outdoorsman and love to fish and hunt. Minnesota is the only state I'd actually consider moving to besides Michigan. I work in the trucking/warehouse/material handling field. Anyways, we are looking for an area where we can find work, not too far from the city but not in the city. I would like to live out where I can enjoy my passions of fishing and hunting with plenty of lakes and forests but not too far from the TC area because that is where her sister lives, within 1-1.5 hours would be nice. If you have some ideas of some great friendly areas to live, please comment! Thank you!

I would try looking between Saint Cloud and Brainerd. It is a beautiful area with fishing and hunting opportunities and a relative proximity to the Twin Cities as Saint Cloud is an hour away from them. Possible towns in the area would be Milaca, Little Falls, or Pine City. Hopefully you find what you are looking for.

I just moved from Michigan to Minnesota two months ago. The job market here is MUCH better than it is in Michigan. I searched for over a year in Michigan with NO offers, and came here and found two jobs in as many weeks. I thought I was unemployable, but it really was just Michigan holding me back.

The rural thing is what I was looking for, too. There are plenty of great rural areas near the Twin Cities. Check out Dayton, Medina, Greenfield, Buffalo, Stillwater, and Afton. There are plenty more places, but it would take me forever to list all of them.

Thanks for the reply, yeah I was offered a job a while back but i'm not going back to work if i don't have the option of getting insurance. Glad to hear you found jobs and are back on track. Did you move out there and then find a job or did you find the job first? Thanks!

I would look south and west of Chaska for a place to live. Marshall in SW MN would be a great option but that is more like 2.5 hours from Chaska but there are a LOT of hunters out in that area-great pheasant and deer hunting along with good job prospects.

Mankato area would also be a good choice. That will be about an hour from Chaska, rural enough for some good hunting but close enough for visits. Mankato is also large enough to find a job as well.

You would probably feel the most at home in central and northern MN but that is going to be 3+ hours from Chaska.

I would look south and west of Chaska for a place to live. Marshall in SW MN would be a great option but that is more like 2.5 hours from Chaska but there are a LOT of hunters out in that area-great pheasant and deer hunting along with good job prospects.

Mankato area would also be a good choice. That will be about an hour from Chaska, rural enough for some good hunting but close enough for visits. Mankato is also large enough to find a job as well.

You would probably feel the most at home in central and northern MN but that is going to be 3+ hours from Chaska.

Yeah, by the looks of it I would be more comfortable in the northern part of the state, but we have to find jobs so we'll have to head there on the weekends. Are there plenty of lakes down in the Mankato area? I love to fish also and hate to travel 1/2 hour to find a nice lake to fish. BTW, I very much appreciate the info! Thanks!

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